Sheddings Light on Recent Violence in Border Areas between Somali and Oromia Regions

During the last few months, the border conflict between the Oromia and Somali Regions of Ethiopia has taken anew turn. First, it has attracted lots of media attention mainly originating from the Oromia opposition groups and individuals outside the country. The conflict has become a rallying point for such rogue groups as the Oromo Liberation front (OLF) whose intent is only to add flames to any domestic fire solely to advance their obviously crooked agenda which none of us here in Ethiopia has any doubts about.

Secondly, the Oromo People’s Democratic organization (OPDO) itself has ironically not chosen a different path and merely replicated a terrorist agenda of turning Ethiopian people against itself. Instead of choosing to resolve the land-related problem peacefully with its neighbor, the Somali Region, as the case used to be in the past, all that the regional government, with the whole weight of its lawmakers and intellectuals, has done in the past seven or eight months was to send thousands of heavily armed militia and paramilitary police members to border areas to fight pastoralists in their villages of origin, leading to catastrophic casualties including unnecessary human deaths, displacement and devastation of local livelihoods mostly on the side of Somali regional state.

The fact that there are also some deaths reported by the Oromia opposition press and Oromia regional government on their side does not necessarily wash this tragic mess off the hands of the Oromia administration. Rather, it only confirms the common wisdom that no one is immune to the ills of warfare and even aggressors, like attackers from Oromia in this case, could be killed once fighting breaks out.

A very important question to be asked at this juncture is this: where did the reported deaths of the militiamen and paramilitary members from Oromia take place? The indisputable answer remains inside Somali Region and not otherwise. This fact does not change regardless ofwhatever side one may take in this conflict but most interestingly it says a lot about who is the attacking foreign the first place and who is been attacked. In other words, those who are dying in a territory other than their own are the attackers, refuting all claims of the Oromia regional lawmakers and the opposition press that Somali communities in the border areas are on the offensive side.

It is not the first time that we have seen OPDO joining forces with malignant Oromo groups that have fallen out with the country’s constitution. However, this last one brings the OPDO into new heights where senior members of the Oromia regional government, including the current president and regional lawmakers, clearly feed on opposition propaganda and are openly praised by the opposition press for complementing their agenda. It seems that there are clear complementarity in the roles for each party here: the OPDO domestically becomes the operational arm running the fighting machinery intended to destabilize Ethiopian Somali communities in border areas whereas opposition groups, including those banned by law, would run the media warfare needed to shape the opinion of domestic and international audiences and entities.

The recent Oromo protests that led to the reversal of the decision of FDRE government to expand the base territory of Addis Ababa city came, by the way, as a total surprise to many in and outside the country but mostly to the Oromos themselves. None from the Ethiopian Oromo community ever expected such concession given the history of repression and dictatorship in Ethiopia under previous regimes. The Oromos also hailed the protests as a gateway to increasing their ministerial leadership share within the federal government. This itself was another important surprise waiting them just around the corner. After all, as this is not Mengistu’s Ethiopia and FDRE is an elected government, good surprises like these can be a part of our lives through a government response to public demands.

While the outcome from the protests in both cases should be fine with every Ethiopian, the downside is that they emboldened the Oromo political elite, from both opposition and ruling party alike, giving birth to a new attitude towards the approach of handling traditional land conflicts with neighboring ethnicities, the Somali Region being a case in point. The mistaken and newly conceived impression that they can apply the same Addis Ababa experience to the border issue with the Somali Region is the cause for the new derailment of stability and peace in the border areas for more than half a year. With this new attitude, the frequency of attacks from Oromia’s armed militia and trained policemen has sharply risen to new levels in the past few months.

It is really not a joke that the upsurge in politically driven violence in the border areas between the two Region comes with a new catch phrase increasingly becoming common among the Oromo political elite, particularly after reversal decision. It goes like this:We have won the west we shall now win the east. This basically means the Addis Ababa expansion plan was defeated through protests, so it is now time to take the crushing weight of the Oromo to the eastern neighbor, the Somali Region, to wreak havoc and expand the Oromia territory to the east. However, the two issues in the same Oromo catch phrase are indeed very different things that can be revealed by a closer look. For instance, the Addis Ababa expansion plan dropped by the FDRE government covered territory settled by Oromo farmers but the fighting in the Somali Region is driven Oromo’s insatiable quest for territorial expansion, which is not new at all and continues through decades of history.

The consequence inherited by Somali Region currently from the ongoing border conflict with Oromia Region is not only deaths and destruction of property so far. It is also the media portrayal of a misleading picture of what this standoff is all about and its ferocity, unfairly hijacking the views of the international community and eclipsing the facts regarding the origins of the crisis, its new driving factors and why it is so different this time than those in the past. This apparently makes the conflict one of the most misunderstood issues in the Horn of Africa today, putting the Somali pastoral communities, the real victims of this stalemate, on the losing side and the Oromiya government leadership and opposition elements, the actual perpetrators of the ongoing violence, jointly on the winning side.

The silence of the Somali regional government on the issue and the absence of its voice in the domestic and international media were not easy but understandable. On the one side, regional attention and effort was consumed by the struggle of responding to a debilitating drought affecting most parts of the Region, while on the other, regional authorities have kept the conflict to a low profile in the hope that it can be addressed peacefully through constructive engagement with its counterpart as the case has always been in the past. In either case, such silence has not helped the situation as it has given the oramia government and opposition activists to bury down the truth about the border crisis through the use of predatory media. This has ultimately spread a false but unfortunatelyunchallenged impression that Oromia Region is the perceived recipient and victim of attacks from its neighbor, Somali Region, though reality is undoubtedly otherwise.

The artificially-created confusion surrounding the conflict is not only shocking to the Somali communities and authorities affected by the inter-state border crisis but also to most ordinary Oromos who are struggling understand the real intentions and the approach of their political elite and think that the issue has been taken too far than necessary and at the expense of what is best for both Regions and communities – peaceful dialogue. The beneficiaries of this confusion are neither the Somali nor the Oromo people but the Oromo political elite who is persistently looking for scapegoats, using the conflict to hide their withering confidence by the public and dwindling support for such elite.

Given this state of affairs between the two sides, displacing truth in favor of fabricated lies would, by anyone’s standard, yield dangerous consequences for all parties concerned in the long-term regardless of who may benefit from it in the short-term. Most importantly, however, such act would make the prospects for amicably settling the problem more remote than ever before. In my role as an independent researcher of such issues lately, this is to provide ground level clarification of facts based on assessments I have undertaken and on the consistent outcomes of investigations made by various individual sand entities in and outside the Region. This work is not about making conclusions by merely quoting what others have said on the matter, but also includes field visits I personally made to more than ten conflict-affected Woredas, giving me the first hand opportunity to talk to victims, assess locations of fighting and study conflict incidents in detail.

2. Background

Traditionally, the Somali and Oromo communities have been mostly peaceful neighbors, inter-connected by cultural, social, economic and historical bonds. They lived side-by-side for centuries and have built alliances in many occasions against common enemies like the Italian fascist invader. Apart from occasional disputes over rangelands, both communities have thrived through their inter-dependence, co-existence and mutual accommodation, rendering benefits to both sides. We need to understand that this will not change whatever the political elite of today decides regarding the border issue.

Historically, the land conflict between the Oromo and Somali communities in Ethiopia goes back to many decades but it has always been a slowly burning issue. Ethnic regionalization under federalism and the need to demarcate borders between Oromia and Somali Regions came up with challenges from the very start: both Regions laid claim to some of the same borderline areas as their own, re-awakening and sharpening the old and traditionally dormant ethnic conflict between the two sides.

With support from the federal authorities and based on agreement between the two sides, a land referendum was carried out to peacefully solve the land dispute. Out of the 420 kebeles covered in the referendum, only 80 went to the Somali Region and the rest to Oromia. Although the Somali regional government transferred all the kebeles it has lost which were originally under its administration to local Oromia authorities, it did not receive equal treatment from its Oromia counter-part. Up-to this every day, the oromia regional government retains kebeles that were previous under its control but which they lost during the referendum to Somali Region.

In the past decade, transferring this land was always an issue for the successive regional administrations on both sides, but various Oromia regional administrations had one thing in common: the use of various tactics to delay the transfer though they never objected openly. As a heavyweight member of the EPRDF, Oromo authorities have always known for dragging their feet when it comes tissues of land, eventually denying any progress forward.

Facing uncertainty and mounting frustration and despite the lack of any viable breakthrough in this matter throughout the years after the referendum, one simple strategy that has been used by Somali Region authorities and which indeed paid off in terms of keeping both sides at peace until recently was as follows: patiently wait the best opportunity to sort out this peacefully with the Oromia neighbor.This was a regional policy that did not change throughout various administrations that came to power in the Region. I strongly commend the Ethiopian Somali authorities for holding on to this approach, while there was no any incentive for keeping peace in border areas from the other side- Oromia.

3. Recent developments in the border areas between the two Regions

In recent months, there were two unprecedenteddevelopments that have changed the peaceful landscape of relations between the cross-border communities in the Somali and Oromia Regions. The first development pertains to the systematic expulsion of tens of thousands of ethnic Ethiopian Somalis in areas transferred to Oromia Region after the referendum. This was implemented through a brutal campaign subjecting locals to killings, torture, rape and lootings at gunpoint at a horrific scale. This clearly contradicts with the very essence and spirit of the referendum, which was meant to draw administrative borders between the two Regions but was never about pushing people out from areas they lived in for centuries.

The influx produced by such expulsion has nearly reached every zone and Woreda in the Somali Region in recent months.The most painful and heart-breaking case among the expelled involves those from areas like Balbalaiti, Bardode, Mina and Burqa-tirtire who lived in there for centuries and have no knowledge of Somali Region butwere forced to leave their villages, farms, livestock and other property behind only to live in a land they never saw before under deplorable conditions of poverty created by man. These communities have not committed any crime or anything else to deserve this but just happen to be ethnic Ethiopian Somalis put by the referendum under Oromia administration. Today, the expellees are spilled across the Somali Region, unable to economically integrate themselves with the rest of the Region’s population and struggling to survive. The Dakhato IDP camp in Fafan zone is a typical example giving anyone wishing to know this more a grim glimpse of this little known horror story.

The second development instigated by the Oromia authorities was even more shocking and unexpected. Instead of keeping the long-awaited promise of returning kebeles won by Somali Region through the referendum which are still in Oromia hands, the same authorities rolled out new armed campaign in many kebeles both within and outside the traditionally disputed areas but which were cleared for Somali Region by the referendum. The start of never-seen all-out brutality characterized by well-coordinated daily incursions and attacks along the long border between the two Regions is dimming prospects fora peaceful settlement to the crisis. It also confirms the close involvement of the top leadership of the Oromia’s regional government as confirmed by a recent meeting of regional lawmakers in Adama town.

The hostility of the Oromia lawmakers and regional leadership was brought to light a week ago by the unusual and abrupt ending of the live transmission on the meeting of the regional council by the Oromia TV. When insults against the Somali regional government and its leadership erupted, outbursts driven by misguided emotions took the stage and chaos broke out in the parliamentary conference hall, the network took the decision to cut it to avoid disseminating further such poisonous views to the rest of the country. Incidents involving armed raids from Oromia into Somali Region have literally jumped up in number following the meeting of lawmakers and so are the casualties.

Current border conflict between the two sides is distinguished from those in the past by Oromia’s relentless use of well trained militia and uniformed paramilitary force, armed to the teeth and savagely attaching civilian communities they think have no matching combat skills nor arms capacity to confront cross-border raids from Oromia. Today, this crisis is extended to more than 15 Woredas in the Region. The interesting aspect about all this pertains to the specific locations where the actual fighting is taking place all of which are in Somali Region territory and most of which Oromos have never claimed asbeing a part of their own Region in the past.

Localities like Qansaxdhere, Dhungoo, Galuun, Bisiqa and Bardaha cas of Dakasuftu Woreda, Qardhisan, Har-ogaadeen and Barnicade of Salahad Woreda, Kulmiye, Koore and Qarfodhule of Babile Woreda, Dhagax-galaal and Karaare of Jigjiga Woreda, Hardin and Nimcaale of Ma’ayso Woreda, Julul of Mayumuluqo Woreda, Xero-homay of East Imay Woreda, Dire-Luja of QarsadulaWoreda and Sekh-salan of Gursum Woreda have seen more than their fair share of the fighting but all of them are lie off the border between the two Regions.Almost all of such localities are reachable by only deep incursions into such Woredas. As I have already stated, this very simple and plain truth easily distinguishesattackers from the attacked and the victims from the villains.

4. Testing the veracity of Oromia’s claims about the Liyu-police force

Of all the things that the Oromia lawmakers and their government said about Somali Region, the weirdest remains the unsubstantiated claim that the Liyu-police force of Somali Region is involved in the border conflict between the two sides. Although I can clearly understand how the liyu-police got into the opposition press, frankly, I do not know how this got into discussion agenda of the lawmakers as such claims have no roots in reality. Was this just a misplaced anger about something else or was it driven from behind by Oromia opposition groups, which may have close links with some of the members within the Oromia regional government? In the sections below, I will try to address the issue of what is the mandate of the liyu police but most importantly will provide some clarifications on how involvement of the liyu-police in the border conflict is null and void claim from a practical point of view.

The liyu-police force of the Ethiopian Somali Region remains a counter insurgency force intended to dismantle the operational machinery of terrorist groups like the so-called Ogaden national liberation front (ONLF), better known as UBO locally, OLF and Alshabab. The unit had proven this in practice through its historic achievements in uprooting the UBO from Ethiopian soil and denying cross-border infiltration of Alshabab into Ethiopian territory. Since its establishment some ten years ago, it has never been the mandate of this well trained force to turn its guns on civilian population and has never done so in practice.

Looking back the history of this force, it only operated in areas within the Region where insurgency groups used to be active and in areas along the Ethio-Somali border where border protection is deemed necessary. Therefore, the claims of members of the Oromia regional government and Oromia opposition groups that the liyu-police has anything to do with border conflict between the two regional states are simply false and do not hold any grain of truth. For a highly trained police force that has a reputation for putting hardened gorilla groups like the ONLF to a terminal end, It is only a common sense to understand that casualties on the Oromia side would have been much higher than its reported levels if the liyu-police would have engaged the Oromo militia terrorizing poorly armed pastoralists.

Following the end of ONLF operations in recent years, the police turned its attention to development and thousands of its members have been trained into civil servants including animal and human health technicians, tractor and construction operators and agricultural specialists. More than 40% of the remaining members of the force are currently engaged in assisting the emergency response programme ongoing in the drought-affected areas of the Somali Region. If truth would matter to out Oromia brothers in areas affected by the inter-state conflict, they themselves know that they have not seen any liyu-police members that have ever engaged them ever in battle. A deployment of the liyu-police to the border areas between the two regions would normally come before operational engagement is talked about. However, how can our Oromia brothers complain such military engagement in a context we know for sure that such deployment has never took place?

After all, the historic success of the liyu-police in the Somali Region has earned it many enemies both inside and outside the country. Armed opposition groups fear the prospect of engaging the liyu-police one day and therefore turned their propaganda machinery against such disciplined unit, which is a national asset in Ethiopia and beyond.

The false concerns and accusations from members of theOromia lawmakers are nothing but a mere reflection of one thing easily explainable by this Somali saying:He who intentionally and willfully starts blaming someone for something he knows he should be blamed, sows the seeds of confusion about the truth and misleads others and therefore has the advantage of smearing others who have nothing wrong. The claim from Oromia is a practical demonstration of this saying in that they are using paramilitary policemen and trained militia to raid and kill Somali pastoralists and have started to blame the Somali Region. Now you see that they have the advantage and in the eyes of outsiders, it is all confusion that reigns what is actually happening between the two Regions.

5. Federalism and its inherent changes into Ethiopia’s political landscape

The birth of federalism and decentralization in Ethiopia in the early 1990s marked the historic begging of all-inclusive Ethiopia. Unlike past regimes, this created an environment where no one is left behind on ethnic, cultural or religious grounds. The creation of a federal constitution that cherishes diversity as a source of strength and unity and which devolved economic and political decision-making from the center to grass-roots firmly established agreed principles for sharing resources, accommodation of various ethnicities and pluralism becoming the hallmark of the new Ethiopia. This is the clearly simple and indisputable face of federalism.

As an Ethiopian Somali who long suffered from the tyranny under the derge, I clearly understand what would have been at stake in the absence of federalism. As one of our wise elders said about federalism immediately after the downfall of the derge, federalism is like being born again and starting a new life from afresh after you have died under the misery and repression of a brutal tyranny. Whatever views you may hold about this subject, to the Ethiopian Somalis, the advent of federalism was the most important political miracle and milestone in the history of Ethiopia.

To most Ethiopians who do not confuse between the past and present political chapters of Ethiopia, the fact that ethnic groups in Ethiopia could demand more rights and go in the streets of big cities as they wish today does not necessarily signify the existence of oppression, but rather an indication of how far Ethiopian democracy has thrived and flourished. I am saying this in the light of how such actions were unthinkable under previous regimes.

Coming to the role of federalism in ethnic conflicts, ethnic-wise and region-wise, we should see that the country’s continuation has given us the power to manage our own affairs, including solving conflicts – both old and new. So from a practical point of few, there is need to point fingers to the federal government as far as ethnic conflicts are concerned. This means that regional states can entirely settle such conflicts between themselves and the Somali-Oromo border tension is not an exception.

The people of Tigray and TPLF are not a symbol of oppression. Their history signifies struggle for freedom from oppression and were a lead force in the determination that has liberated Ethiopia from the Derge, making all of us owe gratitude to them and to everyone else who has contributed to this noble cause. After all, Ethiopia remains one family of various nations and nationalities among which the Tigray nation and nationality constitutes a core component. So there is no any reason to smear their proud image as actors of repression and dictatorship as some political elements like to put it.

Therefore, we all Ethiopians need to think constructively and protect the most important national asset to which we all owe our current progress, peaceful co-existence and uninterrupted pursuit of prosperity –i.e. federalism.

. Conclusion

My conclusion comes down to clarifying few points. The first is that federalism remains the driver of our individual and collective survival, peaceful co-existence and accommodation of each other both from an ethnic and individual perspective. We need to pay back our country through ensuring the protection of federalism. Those who think otherwise, wish nothing for this country and its people less than the return of the doomsday situation under pervious regimes. As far as the Ethiopian Somalis are concerned, I strongly believe that they accept nothing less than federalism in its current form and therefore would defend it at any cost.

Secondly, Oromia regional government needs to reform itself to the depth of its capacity to remove elements from the opposition groups that has melted into its system. In the name of reforms, it is sad to see that the regional lawmakers removed outstanding members like the former president, Mukhtar kadir, and his deputy within the ranks of the OPDO party, who have broad and health vision for Oromia and the country as a whole. This decision that remove both from their positions actually amounted to taking steps backward instead of progressing forward. Somali Region has gone through similar painful reforms a decade ago to cleanse the government system of the political parasite that used as a host. This has paid off well in the end despite the tough struggle at the beginning. I am sure that the Region would be valuable asset in terms of providing you with valuable lessons and experience in your process to get rid of noxious elements paralyzing your system and slowing progress.

Finally, I advise the Oromo regional government and opposition groups hailing from the same ethnicity, to abandon the ill-rhetoric about the conflict situation at the border between the two Regions, respond to demands of the common Oromo man, which is peace and the pursuit of happiness and respect the wishes of people in both sides of the border to decide on their own which Region they would like to be a part of. The latter is better than resorting to violence, especially if you would not respect the results of the referendum. Most importantly, please stop the detrimental media campaign propagating lies about SomaliRegion; you surely know that the “region and its people is the victim of all this and not the aggressor. Constructive engagement from both sides remains the only viable option towards peaceful and mutually prosperous future for both Regions.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Awramba Times website.

Awramba times, don’t we know each other? Every Tigrai and Tigre media are favoring Somale Region this year. The game began when the Somale elders went to Mekele in the name of helping the Tegarus displaced from Gonder. Overtly, the move was good as it seemed humanitarian. But they did it for political motives which have shown itself after that moment. Abdi Mohammed was your best man of the year. Your activists had been saying and advocating that Somaliya has boarder claim over the areas demarcateted in the current Oromiya. So, how do we trust any comments and opinions coming from you all on this issue?”
Dabbaal mootii

I think that fucken bastard illiterate Abdi Iley pay for this idiot writer to write this baseless propaganda. Everyone knows how much Somali Liyu Police are terrorist and violent. whatever you said Oromo people will defend their land and people.

this idea from reality somli agressor terrost exponsion one day brought justice like abdii illey expansionst .hunger people our land far from current map oromia even include jijiga city ready for future consequece crazy camel we ready to defand such terrost alshabab enough is enough

Jiraf rasu gerfo rasu yechohal yelal Habesha
Are you seroius when you right all those filths? Somali region criminals known as liyyu police with full support of TPLF has waged war on neighboring oromo villages, they kill people , loot property and rape women. If you are not insane TPLF cadre go to those areas and observe the reality on the ground
It is disgusting to blame any oromo pollitical organizations for crimes committed in those areas. It is obvious that TPLF is at grudge with oromo people, that is why they bent on doing harm to oromos and helping janjawid militia of somali regional state
We know who are our enemies and friends
Shame on you

The TPLF leader who completed grade 6, Abbay Woldu and Abdi Mohamed (the mad leader of Ethio Somali) agreed to fight Oromos and Amharas together. They decided that since both of them represent 6 percent of the Ethiopian population, ( totally 12 %), Abdi has to send his paramilitary force to harass Oromos (People who represent 40 % of the the Ethiopian population) and who were protesting alongside the Amharas( who represent 30% of the Ethiopian population). On the Other hand Ababy Woldu will open his front on Amharas by sending ANDM cadres and the para military force of Tigray. By Doing so they can maintain on power for a long period of time according to their calculation. But, this miscalculation will lead them to personal psychic problems and failure on their respective groups. To show their solidarity to the rest of Ethiopians, and as Awramba times (the hidden organ of TPLF) disclosed, first Abdi sent 10 million Birr to help the displaced Tigrains from Gondar . In response, Abbay Woldu reimbursed 12 million Birr to Somali drought affected people. Other regions were not allowed to send aid for the needy for the sake of political gambling taking place between Abdi and Abbay.

There are things that are manifesting themselves by coming out in the open in various harmful ways. Old conflicts are flaring up again and again. Hundreds of thousands and possibly in their millions have left places of their birth seeking and chasing peace and opportunity somewhere else. I can talk about it coming from the lot that had befallen my own Itu clan on my mother’s side. The conflicts and tribal clashes have been around for centuries but somehow elders of those times used to find compromising ways to easy up tensions and conflicts. Such conflicts were not provoked or promoted by the late emperor or even that demon Mengistu. The tribal conflicts used to be mainly between some of the Afar and clans from the Issa tribe. My mother’s clan used to be left alone by both warring tribes because we were the grain producers as well as cattle herders. I remember the Afar clans mainly the Asahi-Mara(Asay-Mara) clan members coming to our village picking up sorghum and other edible farm products in exchange for what my clan wanted. One of my aunties used to travel to where the Issas dwell to sell these same edible products in exchange for some foreign manufactured goods such as fabrics and cosmetics. That was in the 1940’s and 50’s even 1960’s. But beginning the mid to late 1970’s my mother’s clan began to be ruthlessly attacked by cattle rustlers who were by then armed with high efficiency automatic weapons they picked from Somalia and Djibouti. Now some of those places that used to be my mother’s Itu clan domiciles are no more. Many localities that used to be settlements of Afar clans are no more. When I look at the Google Map now I see places that I know very well from growing up in the area in the 1940’s and 50’s are now given names belonging to tribes who were not there even in the vicinity. I will give you one example. The place is a railway station Afdem. It used to be populated mainly by our Afar brothers and sisters. That place is known to the Afars and my own Oromo tribe as Awware. There used to be an elementary school the late Emperor opened right after he returned from exile. I remember many students attending that school used to be from the Afar tribe because they are the majority of town’s populations including the area leading all the way to Gowane. I personally know some of those students who had become productive bureaucrats even in neighboring Djibouti. Some of them turned out to be very successful merchants in Addis(Finfine). I still keep in touch with 2 or 3 of them who now reside in Europe. I fully understand and expect that demographics is bound to change anywhere. I understand that. That was all possible until now. The prevailing modus operandi now seems to be such that a certain tribe or ethnic group would be the sole owner and that is it. The problem stems for this psyche inherent in the nomadic way of life. That psyche is the contempt for a settled way of life. Contempt usually accompanies violence. The latest news I am getting from my merchandising relatives is that once again conflicts have flared up. Hundreds have been victimized, mostly innocent ones I may add. I have called for level headed people to prevail so many times before because I know there was a potential for such destructive and deadly conflicts. I had lived in it. I had seen it. The village I once running around playing when I was a very young boy is wiped out of its true colors. If I ever had the chance to go back to the old country, there will be no ‘Trip to Bountiful’ like Geraldine Page had for me. All I can do now is just look at the Google Map and reminisce. What I think the solution to prevent current conflict from going out of hand is to designate the entire area along the railway line as a neutral and special economic zone. During the late Emperor time it was just as such even though it was not declared as such. Almost at every railway station, the population was comprised of residents of many ethnic backgrounds. I don’t remember any, not one, inter-ethnic conflicts in anyone of those stations. It is very depressing for me to hear inter-ethnic deadly conflicts are the norm now. I feel totally helpless. That is why I seek refuge in The Lord The Almighty Our Creator and pray. We should all go to places of our worship and pray daily. We should all pray that Our Creator make those level heads prevail over the evil minded ones. Let’s Pray!!!!

There are things that are manifesting themselves by coming out in the open in various harmful ways. Old conflicts are flaring up again and again. Hundreds of thousands and possibly in their millions have left places of their birth seeking and chasing peace and opportunity somewhere else. I can talk about it coming from the lot that had befallen my own Itu clan on my mother’s side. The conflicts and tribal clashes have been around for centuries but somehow elders of those times used to find compromising ways to easy up tensions and conflicts. Such conflicts were not provoked or promoted by the late emperor or even that demon Mengistu. The tribal conflicts used to be mainly between some of the Afar and clans from the Issa tribe. My mother’s clan used to be left alone by both warring tribes because we were the grain producers as well as cattle herders. I remember the Afar clans mainly the Asahi-Mara(Asay-Mara) clan members coming to our village picking up sorghum and other edible farm products in exchange for what my clan wanted. One of my aunties used to travel to where the Issas dwell to sell these same edible products in exchange for some foreign manufactured goods such as fabrics and cosmetics. That was in the 1940’s and 50’s even 1960’s. But beginning the mid to late 1970’s my mother’s clan began to be ruthlessly attacked by cattle rustlers who were by then armed with high efficiency automatic weapons they picked from Somalia and Djibouti. Now some of those places that used to be my mother’s Itu clan domiciles are no more. Many localities that used to be settlements of Afar clans are no more. When I look at the Google Map now I see places that I know very well from growing up in the area in the 1940’s and 50’s are now given names belonging to tribes who were not there even in the vicinity. I will give you one example. The place is a railway station Afdem. It used to be populated mainly by our Afar brothers and sisters. That place is known to the Afars and my own Oromo tribe as Awware. There used to be an elementary school the late Emperor opened right after he returned from exile. I remember many students attending that school used to be from the Afar tribe because they are the majority of town’s populations including the area leading all the way to Gowane. I personally know some of those students who had become productive bureaucrats even in neighboring Djibouti. Some of them turned out to be very successful merchants in Addis(Finfine). I still keep in touch with 2 or 3 of them who now reside in Europe. I fully understand and expect that demographics is bound to change anywhere. I understand that. That was all possible until now. The prevailing modus operandi now seems to be such that a certain tribe or ethnic group would be the sole owner and that is it. The problem stems for this psyche inherent in the nomadic way of life. That psyche is the contempt for a settled way of life. Contempt usually accompanies violence. The latest news I am getting from my merchandising relatives is that once again conflicts have flared up. Hundreds have been victimized, mostly innocent ones I may add. I have called for level headed people to prevail so many times before because I know there was a potential for such destructive and deadly conflicts. I had lived in it. I had seen it. The village I once running around playing when I was a very young boy is wiped out of its true colors. If I ever had the chance to go back to the old country, there will be no ‘Trip to Bountiful’ like Geraldine Page had for me. All I can do now is just look at the Google Map and reminisce. What I think the solution to prevent current conflict from going out of hand is to designate the entire area along the railway line as a neutral and special economic zone. During the late Emperor time it was just as such even though it was not declared as such. Almost at every railway station, the population was comprised of residents of many ethnic backgrounds. I don’t remember any, not one, inter-ethnic conflicts in anyone of those stations. It is very depressing for me to hear inter-ethnic deadly conflicts are the norm now. I feel totally helpless. That is why I seek refuge in The Lord The Almighty Our Creator and pray. We should all go to places of our worship and pray daily. We should all pray that Our Creator make those level heads prevail over the evil minded ones. Let’s Pray!!!!

Ethiopia is a country where more than 80 nations, nationalities and peoples who have strong social bonds have been residing in. In fact, it is impossible to break this strong bond that cemented the people no matter what distorted information is disseminated.

Sometimes we encounter with equivocal portrayals in the media irrespective of the very moral and legal objectives of the media. In the same token, Journalistic professionalism has been fading away from time to time. This is true in most media, including the well known international ones.Concerns on sensationalizing Oromo-Somali border issues

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Some media houses wrote “conflict resolution” as one of their editorial values, but failed to give it a priority rather they frequently cover conflict aggravating stories.

Another key point in the editorial policy of most media is social responsibility. Their performances that we either read, listen or watch witnesses the fact that these media pay little attention to their news and other genres public impacts.

It is also customary for media practitioners, journalists and columnists doing hasty conclusions and remarks ignoring the impacts of their information on any segment of the society. These kinds of media coverage encourage the number of socially irresponsible and conflict monger writers around the world.

Although, such incidents are rife, my point of discussion has been about the recently published uncaring piece by Ismail Mohammed Abdi. As soon as I read it, an initiation crossed my mind and persuaded me to share my feeling and opinion to those who read that hardhearted article.

In other words, the very fuzzy and distorted idea he attempted to install in the minds of the readers persuaded me to utter a few words. The Article entitled “Shedding light on the recent violence in the border areas between Somali and Oromia regions of Ethiopia” was published on aigaforum.com and tigrayonline.com recently.

I don’t want to rush on to the point that I personally disagree with rather prefer to view the piece in two simple categories: the honest description and the fact distortion of the situation in Ethiopian Oromo-Somali borderland conflicts.

In the first place, I would like to pose the undeniable grains of truth in that piece. The way it described one of the terrorist groups that have been creating chaos at home and exerting unreserved venture to poison the country’s peace in general and that of the Oromiya Regional State in particular.

In connection to this he stated, “The conflict has become a rallying point for such rogue groups as the Oromo Liberation front (OLF) whose intent is only to add flames to any domestic fire solely to advance their obviously crooked agenda which none of us here in Ethiopia has any doubts about”

Undeniably there are a number of groups residing either at home or abroad who have been adding fuel to fire whenever there is any sensitive issue in the country. This could take us nowhere. We all will be losers if we either monger conflicts or contribute in aggravating such incidents. It is undeniable that we Ethiopians could be benefited from peace, development, unity and cooperation. If we able to resolve wisely the inevitable conflicts that might break out here and there no matter what their real causes might be.

The writer also hoisted the affirmative impacts of Ethiopian Federalism emphasizing the creation of a Federal Constitution that cherishes diversity as a source of strength and unity, which devolved economic and political decision-making from the center to grass-roots firmly, established agreed principles for sharing resources, accommodation of various ethnicities and pluralism becoming the hallmark of the new Ethiopia.

The author put forward that Ethiopians should think constructively and protects the most important national assets to which we all owe our current progress, peaceful co-existence and uninterrupted pursuit of prosperity.

Irrespective of these good faiths the author also raised suggested an issue that could poison the peace and creating hatter among the two people.

He skewed a number of ideas and erroneously described the situations on the ground. Firstly, he missed the very fact for a country with more than 80 nations, nationalities and peoples to face some boarder disputes. He failed to consider this very fact on the ground. I believe the writer should have viewed the Ethiopian Oromo-Somali borderland issues within this context.

It is not only closing the eyes but also a sort of betrayal to describe and naming the Oromo People’s Democratic organization (OPDO) as a party that stood against public will without any justifications that could substantiate his argument.

In this regard, I strongly disagree with the author’s statement read as, “the Oromo People’s Democratic organization (OPDO) itself has ironically not chosen a different path and merely replicated a terrorist agenda of turning Ethiopian people against itself”.

This statement is not only described without any tangible evidence that could connivance the readers but it is really far from the truth as it contradicted to the very objectives and the daily practices of the party.

The OPDO/EPRDF has rather been working for the welfare of the people in accordance with the constitution, which guaranteed all nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia to enjoy equal opportunities, mutual respects and peaceful co-existence.

The bone of contention of my intention to say something is the fallacy of the idea conveyed in Ismail’s piece which I think could add fuels to the flaring fire, contribute to escalating conflict and develop hatter between the two people who are of the same flesh and blood.

It could play a negative role in aggravating the problem among the people who have lived together for years peacefully without inflicting any harm to one another.

In fact, the issue is on the board that regional governments considered it seriously and look forward for the appropriate solution in accordance with the constitution.

In this regard, Article 48 and Sub-Article 1 of the Ethiopian Constitution stated that all State border disputes shall be settled by agreement of the concerned States. Where the concerned States fail to reach agreement, the House of the Federation shall decide such disputes on the basis of settlement patterns and the wishes of the peoples concerned.

This is also a sensational approach without tangible evidences just a white-lie that could catalyze the conflict and sprinkling benzene on it. In contrary to Ismail’s sensational piece that could wreak havoc in the area, the federal government, along with the two Regional States has been working on its solution in line with the country’s constitution.

I think this writing lacks social irresponsibility. It seems composed from unhealthy motives, targeted to speed up the Oromo-Somali border conflict. I think there are a lot of fabricated disgraceful claims that contribute to the peaceful resolution of the problem.

In fact, this kind of irresponsible writing is not the first in its kind. There were lots of baseless purports that attempted to flare up fire in the country. However, this piece is uses irresponsible approach.

Those people who are intertwined in flesh and blood shared same values and assets since time immemorial and will remain there for the future. I dare say these kinds of sensationalizing approaches should be avoided rather it is of paramount importance to give a priority to the well-being of the people.

i think we need peace and conscience at this moment. Violence and hidden gambling might help the instigators for some times. But it will not be so long that all their mess and gains will be lost and be forgotten. Time is partly controlled by us but also by others. Probably for now time is favoring those who favor violence and instigate it whoever he/she/they are-including authorities, TPLF, OLF, OPDO, somali regional leaders, or ordinary actors but soon the hands that shed the blood of innocent will be open and disgraced. we have witnessed many histories and civilizations but a development or growth or controlling people via mischief based on shedding the blood of innocents and weak people go no where. what ever difference we have still we can dialogue and debate on it. unlucky we are not getting it because may be our conscience is darkened and not reflecting, so we are still greedy but empty, naked, poor and still fighting each and shedding the blood of innocents in this country

Is this a site for the anti-Ethiopians report? I simply hate reading few paragraphs at the top as it was completely filled with false allegations and irresponsible and unbalanced outlooks. It never helped and it will never help peace if we are commenting standing on the other extreme to express our hate and try to undermine the causes and reasonings from the other side.